Roasted Broccoli and Goat Cheese Omelets

Posted by Cara - January 9th 2014

The short-order cooks at the diner and hotel buffet and the local brunch place told me that an omelet was a chewy filled cake made from overcooked Egg Beaters and American cheese–but when I made an omelet at home! That’s when I realized what an omelet could be: delicious, light, fluffy, healthy, and not repulsive at all.

The scales fell from my eyes a long time ago, at a weeklong basics cooking class I enrolled in one summer during college, the same course that taught me everything I know about vinaigrettes and chocolate mousse. The teacher demonstrated a lightening-quick omelet technique he said was authentic to the French way. And, like so many other things the French have mastered (like wine, food, and villages), the omelet technique was right, proper, and good. I continue not to order omelets at diners, buffets, and brunch places, but I recently started making them at home again, with that instructor’s words in my mind. Today, with step-by-step photos, I’m hoping you have your own omelet epiphany.

First, you heat a small nonstick pan over high heat for about 4 minutes. You want the pan to be very, very hot, because it needs to retain its heat once the flame is turned off. Definitely use nonstick.

The eggs will immediately begin to set. You want to immediately begin pulling the cooked eggs from the outside to the middle….

…while you tilt the pan back the way you pulled, letting the still-liquid eggs take the place of the cooked ones at the bottom. Keep on doing this.

When there’s no more liquid, you’re ready for your fillings.

Have them right by your side so you can scatter goat cheese…

…and broccoli over the bottom hemisphere of the omelet as it finishes cooking.

Leave them for 30 seconds or so, so they can warm up and/or melt.

I use the cheater’s way of making my omelet’s fold. No flipping, nothing fancy. Simply slide the omelet, filled half first, onto the plate.

Use the pan to fold the second half of the omelet over the first.

Done! There’s your healthful, easy, gluten-free meal. I usually don’t make omelets for breakfast, but they’re a great dinner or weekend lunch. The thing to know, though, is that you virtually never want to make omelets for more than two people, otherwise you’ll transform from guest into short-order cook, albeit a really smart one who knows exactly how to make a proper omelet.

**Recipe**

Roasted Broccoli and Goat Cheese OmeletsServes 1

If you roast a whole heat, you’ll make enough broccoli for a dozen omelets, but I figured you’d rather have leftovers. If not, just roast up a handful of broccoli with a little bit of olive oil.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss broccoli with 3 tablespoons olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until very crisp around the edges.

Remove and sprinkle with more salt, then set aside. You can make the broccoli up to a few days in advance. When cool enough to touch, chop a handful into smaller morsels, then measure out a 1/2 cup of chopped broccoli.

Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and egg white. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a small nonstick frying pan over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, until it just starts to smoke. while the pan is heating, bring over: 1) bottle of olive oil, 2) the measured-out broccoli, 3) the goat cheese, 4) the eggs, 5) a silicone spatula, and 6) the plate you’ll eat from. Once you start, this goes fast.

When the pan reaches desired heat, in one fell swoop you want to film the pan with oil, pour in the eggs, and turn off the heat. Grab the spatula and pull the cooked eggs towards the center of the pan, tilting the pan back towards where you came and letting the still-uncooked eggs take the place of what you just pulled. Repeat this from every angle, pulling in cooked eggs and letting uncooked take their place until a tilt no longer makes any liquid move. Place the cheese, then the broccoli in the southern hemisphere of the pan (imagining that the line from the handle, extended, is the equator), and let them sit for about 1 minute, to let the eggs finish firming up and the cheese get a little warm and gooey.

Now pick up the pan and loosen the omelet from all the edges. Hold the pan over the plate and begin to slide the omelet onto it, southern hemisphere first. When you get to the equator, stop sliding and instead use the pan to flip the rest of the omelet (the part without the filling) on top. Eat immediately.

This post is part of Food Network’s Comfort Food Fest, breakfast edition. See what other awesome bloggers made for breakfast by following the links below. Enjoy!

Hmm, I’ve never tried this technique, with high heating the pan and then turning it off! But I DO love making veggie & cheese omelets for dinners I’ll give this way a shot! Also, roasted broccoli sounds like an awesome filling.

http://www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/ BGSK

Yes! The broccoli is killer. Can’t wait to hear what you think if you try this technique.

http://www.dearskim.com/ Sara @ Dear Skim

The amount of goat cheese that was put in this omelette is glorious. Absolutely glorious. Big creamy clumps of cheese!

http://www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/ BGSK

That’s my style. Glad you think cheesiness is glorious too!

Elizabeth Crew

Thank you! Mine never turn out pretty and I couldn’t figure out why.

http://www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/ BGSK

Can’t wait to hear what you think if you try this way.

Gemma Chew

This looks absolutely amazing! I love broccoli! I’m in Cambodia at the moment and it has been super hard to find broccoli and so whenever I have some it’s a mini celebration for me! Can’t wait to make this when I get home

xx gee @ gemmachew.com

http://www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/ BGSK

Cambodia! So fun. What are you doing there? I bet the markets will yield some other excellent omelet fillings. But I understand missing broccoli

Warm Vanilla Sugar

This omelette sounds super tasty!!

D

Loved this method. It made a very tender omelet. I used sauteed cremini mushrooms and grated Mexican blend cheese because that’s what I had. Yummy!

recipezazz

Really love the 11th photo showing all the insides of the omelet! Looks delicious. Goat cheese is probably the ingredient that makes this recipe shine, along with the technique!

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About Cara

I cook accessible, creative food in my small city kitchen. Read all about my love for home cooking » here